In This Blame Game, Refs Look Other Way

Tom Condon may be of a differing opinion, but it isn’t true that the world’s problems can be blamed on replacement officials.

In fact, aside from the normal assortment of questionable calls that happen on any given Sunday, the backups, despite having their moments, didn’t embarrass themselves the way many thought they might.

And, to that end, there were plenty of occurrences on the field--negative or otherwise--that simply couldn’t be linked to a black-and-white shirt.

So go ahead and wail on about a coach’s challenge that fell flat or a bad spot for a first down. Even though some might try to, you still can’t pin these events on the zebras:

* Chukie Nwokorie of the Colts rumbles 95 yards for a touchdown on a fumble return as all of the New York Jets watch except for Vinny Testaverde. Jet players say they clearly heard refs say “do over” when the ball squirted free.

* At least three Eagles fail to fall on a fumble inside the Ram 10 with a chance to put the game away, forcing overtime where the Eagles lose, 20-17. All three Eagles claim refs waved their arms furiously to distract their attention.

* Seven Redskin fumbles in a 30-3 loss to the Chargers. Refs were only trying to be nice by using special, one-of-a-kind “greaseballs” for Redskin possessions.

* Falcons give up 13 unanswered points to lose to 49ers, 16-13, in overtime. Players didn’t realize refs were only kidding when they promised to split their overtime pay.

* Drew Bledsoe’s late audible leaves Patriots an inch short on a fourth-down play in loss to Bengals. Allegedly, one of the refs tapped into Bledsoe’s helmet earpiece and did his best Bill Belichick impression to “strongly encourage” the switch.

West Coast Woes

Literally speaking, a “West Coast” offense isn’t supposed to play well in a place like Orchard Park, N.Y.

And so far, it hasn’t.

The new-look Buffalo Bills still have plenty of work to do, after losing to the visiting New Orleans Saints in Coach Gregg Williams’ debut.

While Buffalo’s newly installed 4-3 defense held firm, quarterback Rob Johnson looked unsettled running the new West Coast offensive scheme.

Johnson completed 16 of 27 passes for 160 yards and threw three interceptions (more on that later) for the first time in his career. Johnson also failed to capitalize on two trips inside the Saint 15, settling instead for rookie Jake Arians’ two field goals.

“The thing about the first half was that we didn’t score any points,” Johnson said.

At least Johnson has the fundamentals down.

The Detroit Lions, another team trying its hand with the new scheme, couldn’t really get it going when it counted most.

Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers took the fight out of the Lions early as Charlie Batch got a firsthand look at how the West Coast offense is supposed to work.

Batch was 20 for 39 for 276 yards and no touchdowns. He was intercepted twice by Darren Sharper and sacked seven times, including three by Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.

“I was surprised early how we played,” Lion Coach Marty Mornhinweg said. “All of a sudden it was 21-0. The one thing I told the team: in this league, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. By all accounts we can get better in every phase. We will make some big plays in the future.”

Batch, running the West Coast offense for the first time with the arrival of Mornhinweg and team President Matt Millen, lofted a touch pass from the Packer five toward Herman Moore.

Sharper, who led the league with nine interceptions last year, cradled the pass to preserve Green Bay’s 15-point lead.

Mornhinweg called the throw horrible and unacceptable and Batch knew it.

“In the worst case, we should have had a field goal in that situation,” Batch said. “I wouldn’t say it killed us, but it hurt.”

Meanwhile, the epitome of offense--the St. Louis Rams--watched as their defense took center stage for once in a 20-17 overtime defeat of Philadelphia.

Lovie Smith came in as the new defensive coordinator and has the Rams playing in the same bend-but-don’t-break fashion as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“The end of the game is something we really needed to see,” Smith said.

Say Good-Knight, Rob

Johnson, the Bills’ quarterback and former USC standout, had a rough enough day just trying to run the offense.

It probably didn’t help that doing most of the damage to his efforts was former USC teammate Sammy Knight. Knight matched a Saints’ franchise record with three interceptions, two of which led to 10 points, in a 24-6 victory.

All three interceptions were launched from Johnson’s fingertips.

After picking off Johnson’s pass in the first quarter, Knight got his second interception when Johnson wildly overthrew tight end Jay Riemersma over the middle.

Knight caught it at midfield and ran it back to the 29, setting up John Carney’s 31-yard field goal with 6:53 left in the third quarter.

Two plays into Buffalo’s next possession, Johnson’s pass over the middle glanced off Riemersma and was caught by Knight at the Bill 32.

Coaches at a Loss

It was a tough day to make a coaching debut.

Veteran coaches Dick Vermeil (Kansas City) and Marty Schottenheimer (Washington) both lost their first games with new teams, though Schottenheimer clearly looked worse doing it.

Of the four coaches that made their head coaching debuts, Butch Davis (Cleveland), Herman Edwards (New York Jets), Mornhinweg (Detroit) and Williams (Buffalo) all came out on the short end.

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Compiled by Jim Barrero